Bad Wolf

i have a CAE that usually has one large horizontal stripe one his body, but it sometimes changes from a stripe to multiple spots. why do they change their pattern?

CHoffman

I'm not certain but I'm assuming just like any fish they can change their appearance slightly. If they are happy, sick, or breeding it shows. . How big is it. Are you sure it's a CAE??..

gremlin

They just do that. I bought three from walmart that were all the same color - the greenish grayish color. Now I have two that are still that coloring, and one that goes from a solid bright lemon yellow, to a paler yellow, to yellow with a green patch on one side or the other, to several green patches up and down the sides. No rhyme nor reason for the color change. It is probably just their mood. Since mine have not bred, I don't think it is breeding coloration. Mine have not been sick or injured in any way, so it can't be that. It changes all the time.
Couple of pics. One showing all yellow, and one (in the tank) showing some green scales on the side.

Attached Images

	yellow algae eater 9 10 08.JPG (88.9 KB, 26 views)
	cae 11 30 08 yellow with the green scales.JPG (114.6 KB, 27 views)

CHoffman

WOW..That's a huge color change!!..lol..Very pretty though...I've never seen one do that before.

gremlin

That is actually the second one I've had do that. Last year, I bought two and had them in my pond for the summer. When I took them out in the fall (the water gets too cold) and gave them to a friend of mine for two of her tanks, one was still normal and the other was green and pale yellow (almost white). I think I have a picture of them when I took them out to rehome them...let me see ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Yep - here it is. Both of these were "normal gray/green" when I bought them, then did this over one summer.

Attached Images

08-07-07 2 algae eaters to school.JPG (44.6 KB, 25 views)

CHoffman

That is crazy. The bright yellow is stunning though. I bet they love that pond..All kinds of swimming room.

gremlin

yeah. I can hardly wait for the water to warm up enough for me to put them back out in the pond. They are still inside since the water hasn't gone above 65 degrees. Soon (I hope) soon.....

Bad Wolf

mine are about 2.2 inches. i got one of them less than 3 weeks ago and he has grown 2 cm. i have another one that is half golden and half brown. are these as common as the normal brown? i got for the same price as original ones.

gremlin

I think they are becoming more common than they used to be.